Great Easter Basket Ideas That AREN'T CANDY!

I don't know about you but we still have our Halloween candy! We can never get through it all, even with Landon being a candy monster. I really am more of a savory, salty gal, so the candy sits and sits.

For that reason (along with my lack of love for dentists) I am more into the candy free Easter Basket! I picked a few things up that you might like too!

Princess/ Cars mini chairs:



 Now coco and Landon can be sitting in style when we go to games! How cute are these?

Also since we are on spring break I thought they might want to fish with magnetic fish!



Also got them some kites. Perfect for our beach trip coming up!






And life wouldn't be complete without bubbles!





We put pennies, dimes, nickels and quarters inside the Easter Eggs and the kids LOVE it. We give them each one big chocolate bunny and a few other sweets but that's it! You can have a great Easter without a ton of candy! What's in your Easter Basket?



Rise Of The Gaurdians on DVD!

We were so excited to see that Rise Of The Guardians came out of DVD March 12th! We loved the movie in the theater! I even got the kids this little pack for Easter!



How cute is that!? Perfect for the Easter basket!

Have you seen the movie?

Rise Of The Guardians shows how Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and the Sandman are all working together. The menacing bad guy, Pitch Black, turns children's dreams into nightmares with his scary stallions. Based on the book by author/illustrator William Joyce, RISE OF THE GUARDIANS follows Jack Frost, who creates winter fun for children who don't really believe in him. Everything changes when Pitch Black rallies his nightmare forces to cause worldwide despair and make children stop believing in the Guardians of Childhood: Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the Sandman. When the Man in the Moon tells the existing Guardians that Jack Frost has been chosen to join them, they must convince him to take up the cause before Pitch can snuff out the light of hope in every child of the world.

I loved the concept of this movie and the lessons it teaches. How important it is to have faith and believe! I bawled I loved it so much. It's very creative, funny, heartwarming and DEEP!

Can't say enough about it!

You can buy it today! The Blu-ray/DVD combo and the DVD will be released in a special gift pack with the film and two hopping toy eggs (inspired by the ones seen in the film)!

Happy Birthday My Darling Coco!




Happy Birthday My Darling Coco!

You came to us at a time when we needed hope and sunshine and you delivered ten fold. Every day with you is like a day on vacation. Your joy is so unstoppable you can make even the biggest synic smile. Thank you for being happy to be uniquely yourself. You never copy another person, instead you go your own way and you LOVE it. Thank you for being 100%, unapologetically GIRL. Your love of tutus and girly things makes us all love those things even more! Thank you for being the most grateful kid I have ever come across. Your gratitude and wonder makes me so glad I make the sacrifices I do. And Thank you for making our family more bright, more spirited, more joyful and loving. Those days when you were in the hospital were when this family was the most lost. We never want that to happen again!
I love you. I am proud of you. And best of all I look forward to becoming not just your Mother but your best friend.

I love you Coco Miss.
xo

Mommy 






March Is National Reading Month With LeVar Burton!!




You know I love my Reading Rainbow and LeVar Burton! My kids are obsessed with the Reading Rainbow I pad app!


This month is National Reading month and LeVar posted all about it on the Reading Rainbow blog. I am loving all the reading and book suggestions they give there. Right now they are all about gardening!

My cutey pie friend LeVar tells you why reading is so important here:


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Even little babies love reading. I am always amazed at how young you can start getting kids into books! What books do your kids love? Do you read a lot with them?


***Try their FREE  Reading Rainbow iPad app in the App Store, download any of their Classic Reading Rainbow episodes on iTunes or learn more about Reading Rainbow and all their digital products at www.readingrainbow.com

The Going Rate For The Tooth Fairy- How Much Do You Give?

Maybe I'm cheap.



Actually I'm not cheap I'm smart. I shop at Marshalls, TJ Maxx, and Target. I love a bargain. I am not cheap with my kids. They have nice clothes, toys, take gymnastics and ballet....I'm not afraid to spend money on those two!



Which brings me to the Tooth Fairy. Apparently I am the cheapest one around.

Landon has been losing teeth left and right for a few months. We have been giving him 2 silver dollars. Yes darlings that is 2 bucks!

Asking around I am finding out people are giving $10 and $20 a tooth!! WHAT?? Really? I thought it was crazy. They explained that they got $1 when they where kids so they are adding for inflation. Landon is perfectly happy with his 2 bucks, but I started to feel guilty! Am I not giving enough?

Maybe I need to adjust it a little. Give $5? Or am I keeping them unspoiled and sweet?

I need to know. How much do you give for teeth? What's the going rate for the tooth fairy??


Is Synthetic Turf Toxic?

I had wanted to get some artificial turf put in at Landon's school. There's no grass, only pavement. I thought this might be the perfect no nonsense solution. Now I'm starting to think NO WAY.



I started doing a little research and went here: safehealthyplayingfields.org .

"Synthetic turf can deteriorate to form dust containing lead at levels that may pose a risk to children. Given elevated lead levels in turf and dust on recreational fields and in child care settings, it is imperative that a consistent, nationwide approach for sampling, assessment, and action be developed. In the absence of a standardized approach, we offer an interim approach to assess potential lead hazards when evaluating synthetic turf."

Whoa. Why do I feel like no one is talking about this??!!

"Synthetic turf is a rug made from plastic.  Plastic is made from hydrocarbons.  Hydrocarbons are volatile compounds meaning they evaporate quickly in the presence of sunlight and heat.  Even though they exist in solid form, they still off-gas to the atmosphere – think of the new car smell on a hot day.
On clear warm days, synthetic turf fields get superheated to temperatures from 120o to 180o F.  In this quite common scenario, the gasses rising from the field adsorb, or grab, the macroscopic particles of carbon black (a known carcinogen) and create deep lung inhalation exposures for athletes."

Have  you heard about this? Seems like Turf is getting put in everywhere now a days. Am I the only one who thinks this is scary?